In this Discussion

Protect anonymity We strongly suggest that members do not include their email addresses. Once that is published , your email address is available to anyone on the internet , including hackers.

Notice All discussions and comments that contain an external URL will be automatically moved to the spam queue. No external URL pointing to a medical web site is permitted. Forum rules also indicate that you need prior moderator approval. If you are going to post an external URL, contact one of the moderators to get their approval.

There are no medical professionals on this forum side of the site. Therefore, no one is capable or permitted to provide any type of medical advice.This includes any analysis, interpretation, or advice based on any diagnostic test

The main site has all the formal medical articles and videos for you to research on.

advertisement

L5/S1 fusion 7/15/16 - my experience and some questions

Greetings, my name is Ben, 41yo male, long time lurker, first time poster. As the title says, I had my L5/S1 fused about 2 weeks ago after being diagnosed with an annular tear. During the procedure the surgeon elected not to install the posterior hardware, only the disc was replaced via anterior approach. Unfortunately I have seen absolutely zero improvement so far. The pain and sciatica I was experiencing prior to surgery is still present and now I have an ongoing headache in the back of my skull that gets fairly severe, especially when I lay down. Has anyone experienced this? I'm getting frustrated and am starting to second guess my decision to have gone through with the operation. My first post-op visit is in a few days, hopefully the surgeon can offer up some solutions. In the meantime any advice or experience you can share is appreciated.

advertisement

Comments

I'm Don, 64 yo male, and had anterior L5-S1 fusion with posterior hardware 5 weeks ago for spondy causing left leg pain. Leg pain is gone and I can walk pain free as long as I want. Just two weeks post op, though I was still on pain meds, muscle relaxers and moving real slow with more back soreness as compared to back muscle pain. See what your surgeon says in a few days and stay positive. Good luck!